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GLIMPSES OF 



Scandinavia and Russia 



CH AS F CUTTING 



En ecrivant mes souvenirs, je me rapellerai le 

temps passe, qui dmiblera, pour ainsi dire, mon 

existence. 
%■ . J J ROUSSEAU 

3^' 



BOSTON 

THOMAS GROOM & COMPANY PUBLISHERS 

INDIA BUILDING 82 STATE STREET 
1887 



PRIVATELY PRINTED 
lOO Copies 



HT^HE following pages are extracts from a journal 
(^ written hastily, at odd moments, during a rapid 
journey in the summer of 1887. The majority of 
them were written in my stateroom, or while riding in a 
railway carriage, after a hard day's sight-seeing. The 
fragmentary character of the descriptions does such in- 
justice to the places visited that I, even at the last moment, 
hesitate to commit them to print ; but the kindly expressed 
wishes of my friends, and also the almost total absence of 
guide books of these countries, have prevailed upon me 
to hope that I might perhaps awaken a curiosity to visit 
these wondrous regions, and thus indirectly be the means 
of giving as rare a pleasure to others as the journey has 

afforded me. 

C. F. C. 

LoNGWOOD, December ist, 1887. 



Scandinavia and Russia. 



HULL. 

5 HERE is nothing new to write in these days 
of the crossing of the Atlantic. In such mag- 
nificent ships as the Umbria and Etruria it is 
reduced to a matter of hours, and the passages are 
made with the regularity of ferry-boats. 

We had an uneventful trip on the latter, with Capt. 
Cook ; leaving New York on a Saturday morning 
and lunching in Liverpool the following Saturday, 
at two p. M. At five, we left by train for Hull, where 
we arrived promptly at ten the same evening, and 
were thus in the Station Hotel in just seven days 
and nine hours from the time of leaving the Metro- 
politan Hotel in New York, having in the mean time 
crossed the Atlantic and the whole of England, with 



8 Scandinavia and Russia. 

a delay of one hour at Queenstown and three hours 
in Liverpool. 

Sunday, The day is so very warm that I do not go out. 

"^^' V and B are in London, expecting to meet 

me here Wednesday next, to sail on the Domino, of 
the Wilson Line, for Norway and the North Cape. 
How I do long to get away ! The hotel is stupid 
and hot, without a soul to be seen in its large, 
pleasant hall and waiting-rooms. The maids are all 
chatting together in the serving-room, on my floor, 
with nothing to do. The waiters in the coffee-room 
are asleep. It is one of those large, fine hotels, 
managed by the railroad companies, and adjoining 
the terminus, so common in England. It is very 
comfortable, very cheerless, very lonely. Have 
serious thoughts of hunting up the American Con- 
sul, if there is one in Hull, for the mere sake of 
something to do ; but the streets, as seen from the 
windows, appear equally deserted and uninteresting, 
and thoughts that necessitate exercise, however 
serious, vanish upon consulting the thermometer. 
A Sunday in a provincial, commercial town in Eng- 
land, without friends, is indeed a holy day ! 

July 4. I could endure it no longer in Hull, and after 



Scarborough. g 

making all my arrangements with the steamer people 
this morning, I left my heavy luggage behind, and 
came north by train, one and three-quarter hours, to 

SCARBOROUGH. 

How can I describe this unique and lovely spot ! 
A broad, sandy beach, about the length of Newport's 
first beach, is enclosed by high cliffs, as at Dover ; 
at the top and bottom of which are broad asphalt 
and macadamized promenades and drive-ways, con- 
nected at intervals by almost vertical tramways. In 
front is the broad expanse of the North Sea, covered 
with pleasure-boats of all descriptions. The cliffs 
are terraced with ornamental masonry, and laid out 
in groves and gardens, through which wind inter- 
minable, zigzag walks, quite to the very top, which 
tax the strength of the strongest man to ascend. A 
large part of one side is occupied by the Spa Garden, 
with terraced theatre and casino, kiosks, band 
stand, rustic bridges, and heavy sea-wall of sand- 
stones. On the other side the foundations of the 
Grand Hotel are built, receding from the water, 
story on story, like one side of a huge pyramid, to 
the crest of the cliff, on top of which is the hotel 



10 Scandinavia and Russia. 

building proper ; the top of each story forming de- 
lightful and lofty promenade balconies, which com- 
mand the striking views of this magnificent natural 
amphitheatre. 

The North Cliff, which encloses the bay on one 
side, has along its crest, and extending down to the 
water's edge, a ruined, old, machicolated wall, which 
adds not a little to the general picturesqueness. 
At its foot the larger ships and craft lie gathered in 
safety, protected by a solid breakwater of masonry. 

To the south, the cliffs extend one after another 
down the coast, until they are lost in the distance. 

And now comes the finest feature of all. In the 
centre of the amphitheatre, and parting the cliffs to 
the very sands on the beach, is a broad gorge, or 
ravine, extending up and back through the town, and 
far inland. This is exquisitely laid out as a public 
valley park, with clustering, dense shade-trees, which 
afford delightful cool retreats amongst flowers and 
velvety lawn. This ravine is crossed by two lofty, 
airy, ornamental, iron viaducts, which connect the 
two parts of the town. 

The residences are on the top of the cliffs, — fine, 
solid English houses, with only a driveway between 
them and the edge of the declivity. 



Scarborough. II 

As one sits on the terraces in the long twilight of 
these latitudes, listening to the music of the Spa 
Band, to the distant breaking of the water on the 
beach far below, to the answering call of the fisher- 
man to a passing boat, or to the singing of happy 
pleasure-seekers floating idly over the waters of the 
bay in their gaily decked yachts ; with the magnifi- 
cent panorama of the broad, boundless sea and the 
terraced shore before one, — it is hard to realize 
that there is, anywhere, a world of toil and care and 
worry, and that these moments of great enjoyment 
are only a short but never-to-be-forgotten day-dream. 

This afternoon, walked up through the narrow juiys. 
lanes of the old town to the church, and then on to 
the castle on the North Cliff. It is a picturesque 
and lofty ruin of an old Norman building ; sur- 
rounded by walls ; now used — what part of it is 
still habitable — as a military depot for stores. In 
what was the old castle-yard, a fine, large, green 
plot, on the very crest of the cliff as it stretches out 
into the sea, volunteers were encamped. Squads 
were being drilled ; others were practising cannon- 
firing at a floating target far below on the 
water. 



12 Scandinavia and Russia. 

From this crest, the view north is quite as exten- 
sive as toward the south. Another beach, from the 
middle of which juts out a long iron promenade pier, 
with the houses on the shore, forms what is called 
North Scarborough. It is not, however, a fashion- 
able quarter, nor does it compare in beauty with the 
situation of the main town. 

I have been all over the shore, cliffs, and valley, 
again and again, to-day, and can only still marvel at 
the very striking features of the place, it combines 
so many and varied attractions, the sights are all so 
thoroughly characteristic. The old fishermen and 
boys in the fish-market on the open beach ; the tiny 
donkeys standing patiently in the sands for the chil- 
dren to amble about on, with horses alongside for 
their elders ; bath-houses on wheels, dragged in and 
out of the water by horses, while the occupants are 
inside ; landing carts, platforms, also on wheels, to 
keep the feet dry when getting off boats in a shallow 
bottom ; the nurses and children ; the carriages and 
liveries and flunkeys ; pony phaetons on hire, with 
jockey boy riders, in striped silk costumes, astride 
the horse, dash about everywhere, and add quite a 
feature. Above all towers, story on story, and wide, 



Scarborough. /J 

broad balcony on balcony, the enormous, overshad- 
owing pile of the Grand Hotel. 

There is an aquarium here, under ground, after 
the style of the one at Brighton ; but there is too 
much to see in the air and sunlight that is fascinat- 
ing, to waste any time on it. 

Another stroll about Scarborough until noon, Jiiyc- 
when I return to Hull by a pleasant route through 
Filey and Bridlington, passing near towns with the 

familiar names of Beverly and Boston. V and 

B arrive from London at three, and at six we 

sail on the Domino for Norway. She is a clever 
little steamer, of about 900 tons burthen, without 
cargo and very light, — seeming a small bit of a 
ship in contrast with the spacious accommodations 
of the Etruria. 

The passengers are all in the saloon at dinner- 
time ; but soon after getting outside the harbor we 
begin to pitch and roll, to such an extent that very 
few care to linger over the dessert ; and very many 
decide, quite early in the evening, that as we shall 
probably lose a great deal of sleep during the weeks 
of the voyage, they will turn in at once and get it 
while they can ! 



I^f Scandinavia and Russia. 

July 7. The North Sea seems determined to keep up its 
reputation, to-day at all events, and our wise friends 
of last evening seem equally determined to get their 
sleep while they may. A few of us have the break- 
fast tables entirely to ourselves, ditto lunch, ditto 
dinner. No wonder, for the motion is horrible! 
Mist and rain add to our discomfort. It is also cold 
and chilly. Altogether, a beastly day ! 

After nine, however, in the evening, a bright, 
clear, brilliant streak of color along the northern 
horizon, beneath the clouds, is a sure indication, 
Captain Tholander says, of fair weather to-morrow.. 
This color continues all the evening, and is bright 
as ever when we go below at eleven. 

STAVANGER. 

Julys. We sight the coast of Norway early, and soon 
after breakfast are amongst rocky islands, approach- 
ing the town of Stavanger, behind which, far inland, 
lie a long range of snow-capped mountains, blue and 
hazy in the morning mist. We moor alongside the 
pier at noon, and roam about the uninteresting little 
fishing village for a couple of hours, while our fresh 
provisions of salmon, lobster, milk and eggs are being 



Stavanger. I£ 

put on board. At three we sail for Bergen, where 
we expect to arrive at midnight. The term is rather 
a misnomer in these latitudes, as already there are 
only a few hours of darkness left to us out of the 
twenty-four. 

Our rough weather and sea-sickness are all over 
now for the rest of the voyage. We are in smooth 
water, inside of a vast chain of islands, which extend 
entirely along the coast. I think it would be almost 
literally true to here state (and I consider it my duty 
so to do, lest the description of our experience in 
crossing from the English to the Norwegian coast 
might deter some from making this cruise) that from 
this point north, with the exception of a few hours 
about the North Cape, we did not again see the 
open ocean, and that out of our large party of 
seventy-two, including many ladies, there was not 
another case of sea-sickness on board. 

BERGEN. 

We have an early breakfast, and spend the whole juiy 9. 
day on shore, dining at the Nord Hotel. The 
change from ship life was agreeable, and we passed 
a most enjoyable day. Next to Christiania, Bergen 



l6 Scandinavia and Russia. 

is the chief town of Norway, It is very pleasantly 
situated in a ravine, at the head of a long arm of the 
sea. A finely constructed roadway winds up a moun- 
tain side, near the town, which we slowly climbed 
for an hour, occasionally walking to relieve our 
plucky little, hardy pony. At every turn we had 
new and unsurpassed views of the valley below, the 
town, harbor, and fjord. The country is honey- 
combed with water in every direction, thus adding 
a striking feature to the vast panorama. 

We drove inland four miles, up the valley, to see 
a curious old Norse church of fantastic architecture. 
It is one of several of its kind in Norway, built of 
hard pine, with a thick coat of black pitch in lieu 
of paint, reminding one somewhat of the eccentrici- 
ties one sees in prints of Japanese structures. It 
was originally on the Sognefjord, but was purchased, 
brought to this place, and repaired by a private 
gentleman, simply to ornament his grounds. Its 
location is now superb : on a bold hill in the centre 
of a lovely valley, approached by well-kept walks, 
which lead to a succession of broad vistas of the 
surrounding country. 

The peasants in their quaint costumes are inter- 



Bergen. ly 

esting. We passed many of them during the day, 
either walking, driving in their tiny two-wheeled 
carts, or working in their curious, old-fashioned way 
on their little plots of ground. Let me give one 
illustration of their method of farm-work, — the hay- 
making. Poles are stuck in the ground in rows, 
between which are stretched parallel cords ; with 
their hands the green grass is gathered from the 
field, and is carefully bent and hung on these cords 
to dry ! This method of curing the grass was even 
used on the larger places, where it was cut with 
horses and an American mowing-machine. 

After a stroll through the not very interesting 
museum, we sail northward at four, and must con- 
gratulate ourselves upon having had one of the few 
fair days of the year at Bergen. 

ROMSDALS FJORD. 

This is one of the many grand inlets, reaching far July 19. 
inland to the north of . Bergen. The approach and 
entrance this morning were delightful ; reminding 
one, in the way we were apparently closed in, at 
times, between the rocky walls, of sailing on The 
Lake of the Four Cantons, at Lucerne. We had a 



l8 Scandinavia and Russia. 

merry party on the forecastle after breakfast, betting 
on our course as we approached the different turning 
points. 

At eleven, service was read by one of our passen- 
gers, a rector, — irreverently nicknamed " Three 
eyes," by some of our younger companions, from his 
English habit of wearing one eye-glass. The service 
was performed in such a matter-of-fact-way, and was 
so evidently a duty to be done and quickly over 
with, even to the stopping of the ship that we might 
not lose any of the scenery, that it might better 
have been entirely dispensed with : a great contrast 
to what one sees on the Atlantic, where the solem- 
nity of the hour levels all ranks, and the crew, en 
grande tenue, officers, passengers, and emigrants, all 
assemble in the saloon on one common footing ; 
where the captain would on no consideration waive 
his right to lead the service, and in a gruff, hearty, 
but reverent manner reads to the best of his ability. 
Nor shall I ever forget the memorable Sunday morn- 
ing at sea when the Rev. Brooke Herford gave us 
one of his simple, noble, and impressive addresses. 

Our service on the Domino was held in the so- 
called ball-room. As the cruise was entirely for the 



Romsdals Fjord. ig 

pleasure and comfort of the passengers, the unused 
forehold had very thoughtfully been cleanly painted, 
carpeted with white canvas, furnished with a piano 
and comfortable chairs and benches, and adorned 
with branches and green leaves. It made a large, 
useful room, which we used constantly for various 
purposes ; where almost daily, after dinner, music 
and dancing were the order of the day. 

We cast anchor after lunch, go ashore in our 
steam launch, and all take carrioles and stolk wagons 
up through the Romsdals Valley, around past the 
Romsdalshorn (which rises to a height of 5,090 feet), 
to the First Station. The scenery here is a repeti- 
tion of that on the fjord, except that the valley walls 
close in about us, and the water is narrowed down to 
a noisy, turbulent, mountain torrent. The perpen- 
dicular walls of granite, several thousand feet high, 
with their barren sides, remind one of the Black 
Valley of the Gunnison in our Rockies. Snow lies 
on the tops and sides of all the peaks, extending 
down in many places to within a few feet of us, while 
clouds hang about the highest points. The roads 
are excellent, though of steep grades in places ; but 
our rugged little Norwegian ponies are quite equal 
to it all. 



20 Scandinavia and Russia. 

At the First Station we halt. The more adventur- 
ous push on to the Second, some even to the Third 
Station, where they spend the night ; but our imme- 
diate party preferred returning to our comfortable 
quarters aboard ship, to a good dinner, and to the 
quiet enjoyment of the grand spectacle of surround- 
ing mountains and snow, as seen from the deck. 

We have now, practically, daylight all night. It 
seems curious to hear good-nights taken, and to re- 
tire in the twilight ; but sleep must be had, so we 
darken our staterooms and turn in. 
July II. What a lazily enjoyable life this is! Quite like 
my Mediterranean trip in my bachelor days of long 
ago. We have here no annoyance of luggage or 
customs ; no expense of hotels ; boats and a steam 
launch ply between ship and shore at all moments, 
and stewards are always at hand, always within call 
of an electric bell. We are in a floating hotel, in 
fact, which we take along with us wherever we go. 
Here in this far north country there is always much 
to interest one. Lounging in our sea chairs or 
chatting in groups, we have on all sides the grandest 
works of nature. Men are curing and gathering hay 
within sight, and at times only a few feet away from 



Molde. 21 

the snow and ice which melt and run down in fine 
streams or rapid torrents from the rocky mountain 
sides to the brawling rivers in the valleys, all to be 
gathered into the fjords on which we sail. 
Leave at eleven for 

MOLDE, 

about an hour and a-half from our present anchorage, 
back and out towards the coast again. 

We drive about on shore for three hours, above 
and beyond the town ; afterwards strolling under 
long rows of beech-trees to the Grand Hotel, where 
cakes and coffee were served on the verandah. A 
superb, bright day, with the same noble panorama 
of mountain and snow across the fjord, ever before 
us, whether walking or driving, whether on ship or 
shore. 

We were awakened this morning by a dreadful J"iy "• 
din next our stateroom, and found that we were 
moored alongside the pier at 

DRONTHEIM, 

taking in coals. We escaped from the noise and 
dirt as soon as possible, taking refuge in Hotel 
d'Angleterre, where we found a crowding influx of 



22 Scandinavia and Russia. 

two streams of tourists, from the north and south, 
taxed the resources of the establishment beyond all 
question of individual comfort. 

Following the course of a river through and out 
beyond the town, during the forenoon, we drove 
about four miles back on the hills to a waterfall of 
some local renown. The water rushing down in 
great volumes, and dashing against rocks, fills the 
air with mist and spray, wetting every thing below 
and about, making the steep descent to the bottom 
very slippery, and the ascent most difficult. 

Drontheim Cathedral, situated on the site of St. 
Olaf s well, is undergoing most thorough and exten- 
sive restoration. It is one of the oldest in Norway, 
and, aside from its really curious and interesting 
interior architecture, its marble octagon, gargoyles, 
carved heads and columns, it is within its sacred 
walls that every king of Norway must come for 
coronation. 

The best view of the town and harbor is had from 
an old, dilapidated castle on the north side of the 
river. We spent most of the afternoon on its grass- 
grown walls. The vegetation of the valley is sur- 
prisingly green and luxuriant for the latitude, — 



Drontheim. 2^ 

different from anything we have seen, or shall see 
again for some time. 

The buildings, like all we have thus far seen in 
Scandinavia, are mostly of wood, with tile or stone 
roofs. They look new and modern for the traditions 
of the country, and are rather disappointing in this 
respect. 

The inhabitants are cleanly, civil, honest, and 
obliging. The children are mostly pretty, the girls 

with bright red cheeks and light, flaxen hair. B 

forgot his coat, and left it — or rather I did — in a 
carriage at Veblungsnaes. As it was a new mackin- 
tosh, which he had just purchased in London, he 
took the trouble to go ashore on the chance of find- 
ing it. There stood the boy with it on the pier, 
waiting for him, much pleased at the opportunity of 
returning it. Fancy this of a coachman or cabby 
in most countries ! 

We lingered on deck last night, — or rather, this juiy 13. 
morning, for we no longer know day from night, — 
and for the first time saw the sun set and rise within 
thirty minutes. We did not at first realize what it 
was. We were all watching the sunset, — a deep 
crimson glow, — until gradually we noticed, only a 



2^f. Scandinavia and Russia. 

few points away, faint streaks of yellow light. We 
thought at first a heavy cloud lay between, obstruct- 
ing the color, until, with the rapidily increasing 
light, we suddenly understood that we were watch- 
ing the first break of dawn, while the deep crimson 
of the sunset still lingered in the sky. At one 
o'clock we went below, darkened our stateroom with 

B 's focussing cloth, and were soon asleep. This 

morning when we got up we were at 

TORGHATTEN, 

65 deg. north latitude. This is an island, said to 
resemble a hat ; hence its name ; but I failed to 
make out the resemblance. It is a huge truncated 
cone of rock, in the centre of which is a natural tun- 
nel entirely through it. We landed in boats and 
climbed up over the loose rocks and wet bogs to the 
entrance of the shaft. It was a severe pull, but we 
felt amply repaid. The tunnel is about sixty-five 
feet high, and the same width, and five hundred feet 
through. The rocks have fallen piece by piece, and 
this makes the sharp descent a most difficult under- 
taking. The view of the numerous islands and rocks, 
as seen through this rocky square aperture, gave one 



Torghatten. 2^ 

the impression of looking from a huge window in 
a tower. 

Words will not describe the beauty of the evening July m- 
and midnight hours last night. About eight the sun 
burst from a heavy cloud, bathing sea and mountain 
in a flood of light. The effect was superb as we all 
sat on the forecastle ; the water was as smooth as 
glass, and the prow seemed to cut its way through a 
light skim of ice. The stillness was profound, and 
broken only by the noises of the ship. The light on 
the shore, mountain and snow was the most beautiful 
and peculiar that I have ever seen. Looking along 
shore to the north, it resembled a painting, with the 
bluish purple haze about the near mountains, fading 
to a grayish color, as the coast receded in the distance, 
while there was a flood of white crystal light on the 
snow, changing to a golden and later to a crimson 
glow. It was such a beautiful evening that the 
captain decided to go to the 

SVARTISEN GLACIER, 

about ten miles up one of the fjords. Here again 
was more good fortune for us. On his last trip this 
whole region was enveloped in fog, and nothing was 



26 Scandinavia and Russia. 

seen of this delightful neighborhood. We passed 
the Seven Sisters after dinner, and the Arctic Circle 
at 7.45. We landed about 11.30 p. m., at the foot of 
the glacier, which here comes quite down to the sea. 
As seen from the steamer, it appears only a few feet 
away. Baedeker says it is seventy-eight miles long, 
and one of the largest in the world. Of course, we 
could only see a small portion of it as it lay glisten- 
ing before us, rising up between two mountains 
2,500 to 3,000 feet high. With great difficulty we 
began a portion of its ascent. Walking upon it was 
even perilous. The captain sent out with us six or 
eight sailors with ropes and axes, and most useful 
they were. In several places we could not go up 
nor down without their aid and the steps they cut 
for us. The contrasting dark blue and green colors 
of the ice and water as seen away down the deep 
fissures and crevasses were very beautiful in this 
great frozen white sea. Hardy, thrifty, bright-colored 
plants and flowers grew to the very glacier's edge. 
We returned on board about one in the morning, a 
weary but delighted party, to sit on the deck for an- 
other hour, watching the growing lights and colors of 
the rising sun. A marvellous, wonderful experience is 



Svartisen Glacier. 2'J 

this Arctic life and constant daylight ! A dream 
never to be forgotten ! After about six hours' sleep 
and a bath in the waters of the Arctic Ocean — 
clear, cold, and invigorating — we are again on 
deck, and find ourselves inside the Lafoten Islands, 
where, with clear weather, we hope to stop on our 
way back. The coast grows more bare and rugged, 
vegetation is more scarce, and we are in constant 
sight of snow. The day is clear and fine, warm 
on deck in the sun, and sleep is the order of the 
forenoon. 

All day long we sail past huge granite boulders, juiy 15. 
covered with snow on top, and with sparse, greenish 
patches of moss lower down. Towards evening we 
pass through the fjord south of North Cape Island, 
and sail twenty-six miles to the eastward, to a point 
called Bird Island, under the north cliff of which 
we stop. A cannon was fired from the deck, and 
instantly the air was filled with millions on millions 
of birds. This is a vast breeding spot. Upon ex- 
amining the wall with our glasses, we found every 
crack and crevice, every hole and projection, literally 
alive with birds and filled with nests, countless be- 
yond description. 



28 Scandinavia and Russia. 

From this point we steamed back to the 

NORTH CAPE, 

the goal of all our northward travels. Entering and 
anchoring near a Norwegian excursion steamer, in a 
small bay on the east side, we landed about ten p. m., 
and began the steep, zigzag climb up the side of the 
rock, which is nearly i,ooo feet high. It was a most 
severe exertion, our inactive life aboard ship making 
it all the more difficult for us. My breath gave out 
at several places, my temples throbbed, and my head 
seemed filled to bursting. Up we climbed wearily, 
step by step, clinging to the ropes, — up, alongside a 
gorge filled with snow, — up, past bright double butter- 
cups (great balls of bright color on the grim walls), 
— up, past the pink, delicate blossoms of the green 
moss and the blue forget-me-nots, until, finally, 
wearied and worn out, we reached the level plateau 
and the glorious midnight sunlight. All our fatigue 
vanished in the enthusiasm of the hour. A longish 
walk over rough stones and through wet bog brought 
us to the monument commemorating the visit of 
King Oscar II., and to the edge of the cliff, — the 
northernmost point of one continent. The weather 



North Cape. 2g 

was superb. There was not a cloud in the sky, and, 
at midnight, the sun was still ten degrees above the 
horizon. Geiger raised his American flag, which 
he had carried with him for 40,000 miles in a tour 
around the world, and which he had flung to the 
breeze on the Pyramids, on the Chinese Wall, in 
the vale of Cashmere, and away up among the 
Himalayas. Our boatswain and sailors raised the 
English colors. We drank to the rulers of America, 
of England, and of Norway, and shout after shout 
went up as the different toasts were proposed. 
Away, far to the north of us, stretched the 
Arctic Ocean. We were many miles to the north 
of the corresponding latitude in which Sir John 
Franklin lost his life, and within about eighteen 

degrees of the North Pole. B photographed 

the rock, the sun, and our group, all between twelve 
and one a. m. After our excitement had abated a bit, 
we sat down to enjoy one of the unique moments of 
our lives. Away, far, far below us, lay our steamer. 
There was water in front, and on both sides of us, 
and behind us the stern, forbidding rocks. We sat 
and gazed away up northward, while our thoughts 
and feelings were too deep for conversation. Not 



JO Scandinavia and Russia. 

a syllable was spoken until, with a deep sigh, we 
realized that we must up and away again. 

The return to our launch and ship was most re- 
luctantly made ; but, all the way down, the panorama 
of bay and path and rocks below us was most enjoy- 
able. The passengers, descending in long files and 
zigzag lines, clinging to the ropes, looked like tiny 
ants in the distance. The ladies could not resist 
plucking the flowers within their reach as they 
passed along, — reminding one of the way cows crop 
the last mouthful of sweet green grass along the 
roadside as they are being driven home. We reached 
the ship about two a. m., and then went for a couple 
of hours' fishing. About four we steamed away, 
this time to the south, for Hammerfest and the 
beginning of our homeward journey. 

HAMMERFEST, 

July i6. the northernmost town in Europe, is not noted for 
cleanliness or its objects of interest. 

We saw Lapps for the first time, male and female ; 
greasy, dirty-looking creatures they are ! There was 
an amusing incident in front of one of the wooden 
curio shops this morning. A Lapp girl had been 



Hammerfest. Ji 

following our party about the village for some time, 
apparently — except that she moved on when we did, 
and stopped when we stopped — stolid and indiffer- 
ent to every thing. Not a muscle of her face ever 
altered from its wooden stare. The ladies wagered 
that I could not bring a smile to her face. I went 
down off the rickety wooden steps to the street, 
smiling kindly and approaching closely to try and 
awaken some interest in her ; but all to no avail. 
She stood as indifferent as an aged but faithful mas- 
tiff, who cannot be persuaded to move on until his 
master goes. At last I took out a silver kroner and 
put it in her hand. Suddenly she smiled all over, 
a broad, coarse smile of delight, and, putting out her 
huge paw, I was obliged to submit to a regular pump- 
handle hand-shake, in thanks for my colossal present 
to her. The shrieks of laughter, the clapping of 
hands and shouts of amusement from our party, 
made a din which filled the whole narrow street, 
under cover of which I retired to wash my hands ! 
The town is small, and entirely unimportant. We 
forcibly recalled what Captain Tholander said of 
Stavanger, as we were approaching it in the early 
part of our voyage : ' There is nothing to see, and I 
shall give you plenty of time to see it in.' 



J2 Scandinavia and Russia. 

On the way out of the harbor, we saw on our 
right the famous Meridian Stone. 

We sailed at noon, and for several hours experi- 
enced cold, foggy, raw weather, which chilled us 
to the bone ; but later we had the benefit of it in a 
fresh layer of clean, beautiful snow, which covered 
every peak and mountain - top about us. By eight 
p. M. the weather cleared, so that on reaching 

TROMSO, 

at midnight, the sun was shining bright and clear. 
We anchored in the middle of the fjord, opposite the 
town, which is built up and back on the hill from the 
water. As this will be our last sight of the Mid- 
night Sun, — probably, in my case at least, forever, 
we could not turn in. So, with a couple of the offi- 
cers, five of us rowed ashore, where we strolled 
about, through and above the town, climbing the 
hill back of it, and getting fine views of the fjord 
and islands, old Sol gloriously shedding his golden 
light all the while. 

At three in the morning we rowed back on board, 
and turned in ; but, alas ! not to sleep. While I like 
nothing better, and never sleep sounder than at sea, 



Tromso. 33 

on the other hand there is nothing more disgustingly 
uncomfortable than a night at anchor. All ventila- 
tion is stopped, the staterooms are hot, every sound 
and footstep is magnified in the quiet of rest and 
stillness on board ; and every one who has been 
to sea knows that the shovelling of coals, dumping 
of ashes, pumping of water for washing down the 
decks, and other sundry details of ships' keeping, need 
no magnifying. 

However, a good fresh bath at seven refreshed juiy 17. 
and rested us, so that after breakfast we started out 
in good trim for the Lapp and reindeer settlements 
up the mountains. 

V and I drove in state, with a pair of cour- 
ageous little ponies, two native drivers, and a whole 
retinue of men and children, Russian Finns, and 
Lapps, of both sexes. We should have enjoyed the 
drive, had we not been in such constant and immi- 
nent danger of upsetting. For most of the distance 
our drivers, by main strength, held up our sun- 
down (!) as we rattled and slid sidewise up and down 
the mountain-sides. 

At last we reached the camp and our friends, who 
had all preceded us on foot and horseback. They 



^^f. Scandinavia and Russia. 

were all having a photograph taken in the reindeer 
enclosure. 

We were disappointed in the size of the camp and 
the scarcity of the Lapps ; but as we had been meet- 
ing them occasionally for several days, and had 
become pretty well accustomed to the dirty, filthy 
creatures, it did not much matter. They are low of 
stature, — in fact, dwarfed and stunted in appearance, 
— and unclean beyond description. Their fur gar- 
ments holding and even breeding vermin to such an 
extent that one reluctantly walked about the grounds 
occupied by them. Their earthen huts are even 
worse than their persons ! A herd of about fifty 
reindeer were noble in comparison with them, with 
their wide-spreading antlers. The snapping- of the 
knee-joints, without Baedeker's hint, we should have 
supposed to be the rattling together of their long 
hoofs. Despite their clumsiness, they are gracefully 
formed. I would like to see a herd of them in their 
native state dashing across a mountain ravine ! 

After lunch B and I- make another trip to 

town, and at four we weigh anchor for the South 
again. 

A few days more and we leave the good ship's 



Tromso. J5 

company ; reluctantly enough we do it, too. Life 
on an excursion like the present is very different 
from the etiquette of an Atlantic steamer. We are 
in the midst of the grand works of nature, and a 
common feeling of irresistible enthusiasm and elation 
at finally reaching a spot, for the first time, that has 
always been a bright dream of a golden future, 
awakens and develops rapidly a kindred feeling of 
good-fellowship and camaraderie which seems to make 
old and good friends in a few days' time, and which is 
rapidly kindled by one common interest and the wel- 
fare of the whole, by each individual. The ship 
becomes a comfortable refuge and home. It is often 
with a sigh of satisfaction and relief that we catch 
sight of her quietly riding at anchor, after a weari- 
some tramp and a tiresome side journey on shore. 
The officers — yes, even the sailors of our crew — 
are a welcome sight to us. 

This morning when we woke we found we were juiy is. 
away up the Rafsund, and amongst the 

LAFOTEN ISLANDS. 

The scenery is grand, the pointed rocks rising high 
above and around us ; but we have become to a cer- 



^6 Scandinavia and Russia. 

tain extent satiated with grandeur in Nature, and 
the impressions were not what they would have been 
earher in the voyage. At places we passed between 
lofty walls scarcely wide enough for the steamer. In 
its way, this is all quite different from the coast 
scenery ; but it comes a bit too late for our fullest 
enjoyment of it. It is a glorious day as we drift 
slowly and lazily about, from one headland to an- 
other, passing numerous fishing villages. 

It is a most indolent way of sight-seeing, stretched 
comfortably on our favorite perch in the forecastle 
with our merry, congenial party about one, passing 
through a slowly moving and double panorama of 
magnificent scenery, in a mild, warm, bright sun- 
shine ; gazing about from the deep blue water be- 
neath us up to the hoary peaks and the snow-fields, 
which no longer excite our enthusiasm. A lazy, 
dreamy, delightful languor, which we know cannot 
last, but to which knowledge we give no thought ; 
happy and content, dreaming of the loved ones at 
home; indolently comfortable, with as complete a 
feeling of dolce far niente as ever the Southern lands 
can give. 

So passed a whole bright summer's day, with an 



Lofoten Islands. jy 

extensive mirage for hundreds of miles along the 
horizon toward evening, to which even we gave 
but too scanty attention, accustomed as we have 
become in these glorious weeks to the grand and 
the wonderful. 

A cold, misty, dreary day, which makes us more July 19. 
reconciled to leave the ship. Impossible to keep 
warm, or to remain on deck. The smoke-room 
crowded. 

Toward night, the Crown Prince of Sweden, with 
his wife, on a Norwegian steamer with flags and 
banners flying from every mast, overtake and pass us 
in a narrow passage. They sail proudly, but care- 
lessly, by. If we had not slowed down, there would 
have been a collision. 

At dinner, Captain made a most complimentary 
speech, regretting our departure on the morrow. 
Three rousing cheers were given, and all, rising, 
joined in the chorus, "For they are jolly good fel- 
lows," etc. It was a very pleasant occasion, and 
only a repetition and another expression of the cour- 
tesy and good-fellowship with which our countrymen 
are received by their English cousins across the 
water. 



j8 Scandinavia and Russia. 

DRONTHEIM. 

July 20. Our party of fourteen, all Americans, leave the ship 
early, and start by train at eight a. m. for Stockholm. 
Captain, officers, and many of the passengers accom- 
pany us to the station, where they give us a good 
send-off, — cheering as the train rolled out of the 
building. 

At the Swedish border we succeed in getting a 
through special car, with staterooms and connect- 
ing corridor. A jolly party we are! V has some 

new joke at every station. At times he is inimitable, 
with an inexhaustible fund of humor. The natives 
will remember the passage of our car for many a day, 
and the noisy mirth of its occupants. 

July 21. Another day in the cars, travelling through Swe- 
den. Miles and miles of birch and pine forests. 

We lunched at Upsala. At the railway restaurants 
in Scandinavia there are no waiters. Food is placed 
on a large central table, from which travellers help 
themselves, choosing, as their fancy dictates, from a 
bounteous and well-cooked supply. Payment is made 
at the door in passing out. A fixed price of so much 
each, without reference to the quantity consumed or 
the variety of selection. 



Droiitheim. jg 

We had a good view of the University Building 
and grounds, with its numerous branch colleges 
scattered about over the village. Over all, towers 
on a hill in the centre a large, ugly, but conspic- 
uous, red-brick castle. We reached 

STOCKHOLM 

at four, having been thirty-two consecutive hours in 
making a journey of not over five hundred miles ! 
We spend the evening strolling and steaming in 
small boats about the city in the long twilight, 
dining on an open verandah in one of the numer- 
ous concert gardens. How delicious that dinner 
tasted after our weeks at sea, and how we did en- 
joy it, listening to the strains of Mettra's 'La Rose,' 
Auber, Meyerbeer, Rossini, Beethoven, Verdi, Wag- 
ner, and Gounod ! 

The city is composed of islands, connected by 
bridges, lying between the Baltic and Lake Malaren. 
At high tide the water is salt, from the sea ; at low 
tide it is fresh, from the lake. Steam launches dart 
swiftly about in every direction, taking the place of 
coach and omnibus. In the gardens, standard rose- 
bushes grow to the size of small trees, blossoming 



^ Scandinavia and Russia. 

profusely. The neatness and cleanliness of the 
Swedes is everywhere noticeable, — in the streets, 
buildings, cars and carriages ; on the quays and 
boats. 

We are all at the Grand Hotel, — a fine building, 
centrally and beautifully located, facing the water. 
It was from one of its balconies that Nilsson sang 
years ago, when twenty-three persons lost their lives 
in the crush in the square below. 

We are already enchanted with the city, and can 
readily understand why a lady at the hotel, who came 
to spend a few days, has lingered for three weeks, 
July »2-24. Three memorable days at Stockholm, in this gay- 
est of all gay cities, Paris not excepted ! One's 
recollections are of music everywhere ; of steaming 
from one island to another in the swift little boats ; 
of dining in summer gardens down by the very 
water's edge, or on heights giving panoramic views 
of sea and shore, with always a performance to watch 
or music to listen to all the while. 

Thanks to our letters of introduction to gentlemen 
here, some one of whom has always been with us, to 
their generous hospitality and kindly entertainment, 
we have seen the city and its sights to the best 



Stockholm. 4^ 

advantage, visited the best places at the best times, 
and economized our moments in every way. 

At this season of the year the short hours of the 
night are like a long twilight, and it is the favorite 
time for driving. We were taken entirely around 
one of the larger islands one night, not starting until 
after twelve, lunching at a charming little house by 
the sea at one, and having a glorious sunrise, on our 
way back, between two and three o'clock in the 
morning. 

The pleasant companionship of our large party 
ends on the last of these three days, with a farewell 

dinner-party at Hasselbacken, after which V , 

B , and I leave by train for Copenhagen. I 

shall return again for a few days ; but to most of us 
beautiful Stockholm is another dream of the past. 
How inadequate language is to describe such a city ; 
and how impossible it is to put in words our enjoy- 
ment of it ! 

Travelling all night in a Swedish sleeping-car, July 25- 
— the wide beds and fresh linen sheets of such scrup- 
ulous neatness that it was a pleasure to occupy and 
use them, — we arrived at Malmo, through the most 
fertile and cultivated part of the peninsula that we 



^ Scandinavia and Russia. 

have seen, at eight a. m., and cross by boat to 

COPENHAGEN, 

arriving at Hotel d'Angleterre about half-past ten. 
We immediately took carriages, and had a busy day, 
driving about the city and environs, over broad 
avenues, between rows of the dark, heavy foliage 
of the beech-tree : a fertile, interesting country, 
with picturesque windmills here and there, remind- 
ing one not a little of Holland. 

The citadel, surrounded by a moat, overhanging 
which trees and bushes have been allowed to grow 
in wild profusion, is open and free to all. Indeed, 
a central passage-way through it seems to be used as 
a public thoroughfare, both for walking and driving. 

Outside and around the citadel, on the harbor side, 
is the so-called Lange Linie, a broad promenade and 
delightful resort, giving good, unobstructed views 
out over the water. The Cattegat is to-day more 
crowded with shipping than I have ever seen the 
English Channel, and the port of Copenhagen is a 
busy place, with its protecting squadron of grey 
ironclads. 

The architecture of some of the buildings is very 



Copenhagen. ^^ 

quaint and curious. One church spire, apparently 
of greenish bronze, has an external spiral staircase 
coiling up about it to a globe on the top, on which 
is a colossal human figure. The handsome fayade 
of the low-domed opera-house is surmounted by a 
spirited bronze group of 'Victory ' driving her chariot, 
designed by Thorwaldsen. The whole city speaks 
on every side of the great master : I never realized 
before how great. In the Fruekirke are his colossal 
figures of ' Christ ' (a copy of which we saw in Dron- 
theim Cathedral) and the 'Twelve Apostles.' 

The Thorwaldsen Museum is, of course, the main 
object of interest. It is in the shape of a mausoleum, 
on the exterior and interior walls of which are fres- 
coes of events in the artist's life. It contains all his 
creations, either originals, or duplicates in plaster. 
His versatility was wonderful, and it is difficult to 
believe that the same hand and brain that produced 
the colossal equestrian statue of 'Maximilian I.,' at 
Munich, or the 'Dying Lion of Lucerne,' fashioned 
the exquisitely graceful and delicate reliefs of 'Day' 
and 'Night' and the 'Ages of Love.' 

Several rooms in the building contain part of his 
furniture, library, pictures, and antiquarian collec- 



^ Scandmavia and Russia. 

tions. The paintings are not worthy of mention, but 
the scarabse, coins, and Etruscan pottery are most 
interesting and valuable. 

The museum is built about a hollow square, or 
quadrangle, in the centre of which is his grave, sim- 
ply marked by a bed of dark green ivy. It is the 
only color or life to break the simplicity of the enclo- 
sure of walls and pavement. But no headstone is 
necessary : his noble monument is all about him, and 
his living marble figures speak for him. 

Unfortunately, many of the artisans at Copen- 
hagen, taking advantage of the fame and reputation 
of their great sculptor's works, and of the avidity 
with which many travellers will buy, as souvenirs, 
cheap reproductions, have filled every shop-window, 
hotel, and restaurant in the city with terra cotta and 
Parian cupids, graces, dying lions, etc., with a sur- 
feiting profusion. 

I leave at 6.30 p. m. by return boat for Malmo and 
Sweden. As I now write in the smoke-room of the 
little steamer, the panorama of the Zealand coast is 
rapidly fading away in the golden halo of the setting 

sun. V and B I have left behind. They 

start in the morning for Paris, and I am alone for 



Copenhagen. ^5 

the first time since leaving New York. As I think 
of it, and of all the busy, jolly, happy, enjoyable 
days we have had together, it is difficult to overcome 
my lonely feelings. But Russia and Moscow lie 
before me ! 

A tiresome all-night ride by rail (changing cars at juiy 26. 
three o'clock in the morning), without being able to 
get much rest or sleep, made a quiet day at 

GOTHENBURG 

very welcome. In the afternoon I very unexpect- 
edly met a party of friends. We drove in the 
environs for a couple of hours, and then dined to- 
gether at the Horticultural Gardens. At ten in the 
evening I left on the little canal steamer Baltsar 
Von Platen. 

THE GOTHA CANAL. 

Had an early tramp, before breakfast, to see the juiy 27. 
Trolhatta Falls, of such great renown in Sweden. 
They are simply a turbulent, mad rush of waters, in 
whirlpools and rapids, down through a rocky gorge, 
— picturesque, but scarcely worth a special trip. As 
is often the custom on these boats, we had taken 
advantage of the time consumed in passing through 



^6 Scandinavia and Russia. 

a series of locks to make a side excursion on shore. 
We easily stepped on board again at the little town 
of Trolhatta, where we had arranged with our cap- 
tain to meet. Each lock is 105 feet long, and raises 
or lowers about ten feet every time it is opened or 
closed. The craft that pass through cannot measure 
over 103 feet. Fancy making a trip across lakes and 
country, from Gothenburg to Stockholm, in such 
a little tub ! And yet, we were surprisingly comfort- 
able. We crossed Lake Venern, ninety miles long, 
and, towards evening, again entered the canal and 
began lock-work. It was a curious sensation to sit 
on the upper deck of a steamer, and feel the soft, 
easy motion of the propeller under one's feet, while 
looking out immediately on wilderness or farm. At 
times the canal lay through a dense forest, cutting 
its way, straight as a die, between the trees for miles 
and miles. As the boat nearly filled the width of the 
canal, and the trees grew to its very edge, there was 
no water to be seen, and the delusion was complete. 

As the boat was behind time, and I wanted to 
catch the night train at Toreboda, there was no 
help for it but to take a horse and wagon at one 
o'clock in the morning, and drive for an hour across 



The Gotha Canal. /f^ 

country in the dark, with a total stranger, who could 
not speak a word of English : a thing I should hesi- 
tate to do in many countries, of which honest Swe- 
den is not one. 

STOCKHOLM. 

Spent the forenoon in arranging my passage on juiy 28. 
the Swedish steamer Finland, for St. Petersburg via 
Finland. The proper vise of one's passport by the 
Russian consul is the first and most absolutely neces- 
sary step, for without it one cannot even purchase a 
ticket on any boat sailing for Russia. It is given 
up to the agents upon payment of the fare, handed 
by them to the captain, who returns it, after a second 
vise by Finnish officials, en route. Here again my 
letters of introduction in Stockholm became useful 
for the purpose of identification before the consul. 
As a souvenir of a trip to Russia, — what with the 
endorsements of permission to enter, to reside in 
each of the cities visited, and finally to leave the 
country, — one's passport, with the various official 
stamps and signatures, becomes the most curious 
that one can have. 

After all of this red tape had been satisfactorily 
attended to, I gained admission to the Historical 



^f8 Scandinavia and Russia, 

Museum of Stockholm. Baedeker does well to mark 
it with two stars. It is the most instructive and 
interesting collection it has ever been my good fort- 
une to examine. The Flint and Bronze Periods, 
and the Iron Age, are all chronologically arranged. 
There is also a Mediaeval room, and a large assort- 
ment of coins. 

With a professor of the building constantly ex- 
plaining, I spent two interesting hours in the various 
rooms, beginning with the Flint Period, before metals 
were known, carefully examining a very large and 
excellent collection of stone implements and flint 
weapons. It was most fascinating and instructive 
to follow the development from the rude stone ham- 
mers of prehistoric times to the gradual introduction 
of the metals ; then, as civilization advanced and 
luxuries were indulged in, bronze ornaments and 
adornments were seen : at first rude and clumsy, 
then of finer workmanship, till rings and horse trap- 
pings began to appear, and finally gold and precious 
stones, mosaic work, cloisonne, and so on down to 
wood carvings, paintings, etc., and the minute 
perfection of modern times. 

In the afternoon I went out over Lake Malaren, 



Stockholm. afg 

with its twelve hundred islands, to Drottingsholm, 
one of the royal villas. The lake is so cut up 
and filled with bits of wooded land, that it has 
the appearance of a succession of bays and inlets, 
which convey no impression of a continuous sheet 
of water. 

In the evening, went for one more round of the 
concert gardens, dining at Mosebacken, to enjoy the 
panorama of city and water once more. Ah, how 
I do regret leaving this queen of cities ! Life here 
is all a dream of pleasure, with music at every 
turn. 

The best band is Steiner's Hungarian (Buda-Pesth), 
composed of about thirty boys, from nine to eighteen 
years of age. The Kapellmeisters' control is per- 
fect ; their playing is most inspiriting. I have rarely 
heard such rendering of all kinds of music. 

Stockholm is a paradise for the telephone. There 
are two companies, one of them with over six thou- 
sand subscribers. Every house and shop has them 
both, even to the small, corner retailers. Many of 
the boats have them in their officers' room ; as soon 
as they arrive at their berth, connection is made 
over the side of the ship with the system. In shop- 



50 Scandinavia and Russia. 

ping, if a stranger cannot understand a shopkeeper, 
all he has to do is to call up his hotel-porter, and 
make his bargain through him by telephone. The 
numerous wires are very small and fine. They are 
no obstruction to the roofs, or in case of fire, as they 
are carried high in the air, over huge structures, 
which are in themselves objects of curiosity to the 
stranger. 

Prices are most reasonable, and the cost of living 
very low : a ride in the street cars entirely around 
the city for two and a half cents ; an hour's ride by 
steamer over the lake for twenty-five cents ; my 
room at the Grand Hotel, as fine a building as most 
of the larger hotels in Paris, and delightfully located, 
for eighty-seven and a half cents a day ; a dinner, 
with French cooking, of six courses, at the best 
restaurant, for thirty-seven and a half cents, and 
everything in this same proportion. 

We sail at midnight. The city, with its countless 
lights over water and hill, fades gradually away in 
the moonlight ; but the memories of beautiful Stock- 
holm are ours forever more ; and like the drink at 
the Fountain of Trevi in Rome, once indulged in, 
one is sometime sure to return. 



Stockholm. ^I 

Crossing the Gulfs of Bothnia and Finland, in a juiy 29. 
crowded steamer, with poor accommodations and 
wretched food. At three p. m. we reach 

ABO, 

in Finland, and for the first time see the striped red, 
white, and blue flag waving over Russian soil. We 
moor alongside the hot, noisy pier, and submit to 
the customs' examination of our luggage (although 
none of it is taken ashore), and have our passports 
examined and endorsed by the police. The waiting 
hours are only relieved by a visit to the prison, — 
an interesting, but certainly not a very cheering, 
experience. We were taken through many different 
rooms and workshops, where prisoners were busily en- 
gaged at their various trades. Everywhere through- 
out the building, upon our approach, they rose and 
remained standing while in our presence. We peeped 
at those in solitary confinement, through small eye- 
holes in the doors. They all seemed brutish animals ; 
showing, with but one exception, no sign of intel- 
ligence. This one stared at us through a pair of 
large glasses with his whole soul. His black eyes 
haunt me still ! 



5-2 Scandinavia and Russia. 

HELSINGFORS. 

July 30. Visited the Russian (Greek) Church, under whose 
lofty dome we first saw the Icon, with which we soon 
became so famihar in the weeks that followed. It 
is a very tall altar-screen, in many cases extending 
quite up into the dome, of finest gold gilding, with 
panelled rows, one above another, of paintings of 
various saints, patrons, and royal personages. In 
marked contrast to all this display of gold, marble, 
and color, was the interior of the Lutheran Cathe- 
dral, — ^^ plain even to bareness, with no ornamentation 
whatever to break the stern, almost forbidding, as- 
pect of the walls and ceiling. 

A comfortable dinner in a garden restaurant, with 
a long walk through the grounds afterward, occupied 
the afternoon until our ship sailed. We then had 
two delightful hours on deck : the blue and gold 
towers and minarets of the principal buildings giving 
us our first taste of Russian architecture, while we 
sat listening, until far out to sea, to the sweet 
music of the bronze and silver bells ringing in an- 
swering cadences from every tower and church in 
the town. 

The fortifications on all the shore and islands, 



Helsingfors. 5J 

which even at this distance from the capital begin 
to defend the approach to its port, are most extensive 
and mysterious. 

At sunset we saw what in the darkness of a cold 
winter's night in this latitude I should describe as 
an aurora borealis : great pencils or shafts of light 
and shadow radiating from the sun over one-half of 
the heavens, spreading out in an immense fan shape, 
like the spread of a peacock's tail. 

WIBORG. 

This is the nearest port to the great Finnish Falls, juiyji. 
which a Russian gentleman on board soberly assured 
us were, next to Niagara, the largest and grandest 
in the world. We did not visit them, notwithstand- 
ing this tempting (!) statement, but took advantage 
of our early arrival to breakfast on shore. The cool, 
quiet room of a restaurant, pleasantly situated on a 
hill-top, was delicious and enjoyable after the crush 
and scrambling for food in the noisy saloon of our 
steamer. We enjoyed our good coffee, omelet, and 
strawberries all the more when thinking of the pork 
chops we had left behind. 

Sailed again at eleven, and now we are really off 



5-^ Scandinavia and Russia. 

for Russia, where we shall drink the famous caravan 
tea, — the first we have ever tasted that has not 
crossed an ocean. 

Passed an arm of the gulf at noon, which, to our 
surprise, contained some twenty or more Russian 
men-of-war and torpedo boats. Two or three of them 
were of immense size, and all swarming with 'navvies.' 
As we approach St. Petersburg, our respect for the 
Empire of the North grows with every league we 
travel. 

Cronstadt comes into sight about six p.m., bristling 
with guns. Batteries and earthworks on every island, 
and on either shore, form a circle of defense about 
the mouth of the Neva. The masts of men-of-war, 
ironclads, torpedo boats, and training-ships, through 
which we pass, seem like a forest. 

From Cronstadt up the river, through breakwaters 
on either side forming a broad canal in the middle 
of the stream, one spire after another appears gleam- 
ing in the sunlight. First of all, the grand dome of 
St. Isaac's Cathedral ; then the needle-like golden 
shaft of the Admiralty Building ; and, most beautiful 
of all, the blue central dome, with its four satellites, 
of the Church of the Trinity, glittering with golden 



Wiborg. ^^ 

stars. We passed Peterhof, with its Summer Palaces, 
and arrived at 

ST. PETERSBURG 

about eight in the evening. The long-dreaded cus- 
toms' examination proved, as I have always elsewhere 
found it to be, a mere matter of form. The search- 
ing and severe examination and confiscation by the 
Russian government officials had been so exagger- 
ated, in all the accounts that I had read and been 
told of, that before leaving Sweden I had seriously 
thought of sending my photographs, books, and cu- 
rios home by express. The only severity I experi- 
enced was in having my luggage overhauled twice. 
This was due to the very short memory of the man 
assigned to me. His Sunday libations (the vice of 
all the lower classes in Russia) had been too often 
repeated during the day, fortunately for me ; for it 
was the cause of teaching me, on first landing, the 
useful and most important secret of comfort in get- 
ting about, and avoidance of difficulties with officials 
in this country ; namely, to yield to all their de- 
mands, however unreasonable or unjust : a lesson 
which I remembered, and which was exceedingly val- 
uable on a later occasion. In the present instance, 



5^ Scandinavia and Russia. 

when I began to remonstrate and attempt to explain 
that my trunks had but just been examined and were 
already labelled, the quiet and timely hint of a cour- 
teous hotel interpreter, to let the man have his own 
way and all would be well, without any doubt saved 
some of my books at least from the confiscation I 
had feared. 

On the other hand, the examination and scrutiny 
of one's passport is most careful and thorough. 
No bribing, yielding, or hope of leniency in this 
matter will be of any avail to the unfortunate 
traveller whose credentials are not perfect, and ab- 
solutely in conformity with the law in every respect. 
Within two years, our captain told us, one of his 
passengers who had neglected a trifling requirement 
had not been allowed to land, and had been obliged 
to spend the whole ten days of the ship's stay at St. 
Petersburg on board ; sailing away with him on his 
return trip, without ever having set foot in the city, 
in the very midst of which he lay moored, and which 
he had travelled fifteen hundred miles to see. 

Later, when preparing to leave, in order to save 
time I had my vise pour Vetranger done at Moscow. 
At St. Petersburg, where this vise is usually obtained 



St. Petersburg. 57 

when leaving from that port, it is customary to re- 
ceive a duplicate, on a separate piece of paper, which 
is kept by the examining official who boards all ships 
at Cronstadt, on their way out of the harbor. This 
duplicate I did not have, and was promptly informed 
that I could not leave the country ; but must return 
with them to the city, with all my belongings. As 
there was not another sailing for England for a week, 
my connection with the Atlantic steamer on which 
I had arranged to leave for home depended entirely 
on my getting away without delay ; and I put the 
case so strongly to him that at last, with great con- 
descension, he unwillingly agreed to send ashore for 
higher authority. For one hour my fate hung in the 
balance, while our captain fretted and fumed at the 
delay. At last * his highness ' arrived in a govern- 
ment launch with flying colors and uniformed crew, 
listened to my explanation (how devoutly I blessed 
my old tutor for drilling the French verbs into my 
dull brains !), critically examined the vise, and in a 
dignified manner directed his subalterns to make 
a copy ; and the fiat came forth, at last, that I 
could depart. 

All this digression is simply to impress upon any 



^8 Scandinavia and Russia. 

one of my readers, who may contemplate a journey 
to Russia, the absolute importance and necessity 
of obtaining full and complete information of pass- 
port requirements, and to rigidly attend to the 
carrying out and careful execution of the same. 

After getting our luggage from the quay, F 

and I drove to Hotel de I'Europe, on the Newski 
Prospect. We engaged our rooms, then at once 
took a droski for the Zoological Gardens, — a sum- 
mer resort on one of the islands on the northern 
side of the river, — where we had dinner, watched 
a ballet (Last Days of Pompeii), went to the theatre, 
and stared at the crowd. The droski is a most ab- 
surd little vehicle, without rail or protection about 
the seat ; and there is constant danger, as one is 
being driven along at a speed of ten or twelve miles 
an hour, of being thrown out into the street. The 
drivers have long coats, with flowing skirts, belted 
in at the waist, and a most curiously shaped, little, 
low-crowned, stiff hat. 

The Neva is a broad, rapid stream, averaging 
nearly half a mile in width. The Troitzki Bridge, 
which crosses it from the Summer Gardens, is of 
wood, resting on pontoons, which are taken up in 



St. Petersburg. 59 

winter. We were four minutes in driving rapidly 
and nine minutes in walking across. Like every- 
thing else in the capital, its size is its extraordinary 
feature. The vast, sweeping views from it, in either 
direction, and on both sides of the river, of quays, 
buildings, facades, spires, domes, and towers, are 
unparalleled. St. Petersburg is truly an imperial 
city ! To quote again from Baedeker, * The expen- 
diture of space is magnificent ' ! No idea of the 
size and extent of the buildings, squares, streets, 
and bridges can be given ; for there is nothing in 
the world to compare them with. The architecture 
is neither technically fine nor attractive ; but one 
marvels at measurements and acreage. I will give 
but one example, the Winter Palace, whose walls are 
450 by 350 feet. It is a long walk across Alexander 
Square from it to the Triumphal Arch ; while the 
length of these and the surrounding frontages, when 
first seen, arrest one's steps, and one stares in 
amazement. 

By the Julian calendar we have lost twelve days ; juiy 20, 
consequently, while in the Russian Empire we must ^^"^" ''^ 
use a double date. Three hours to-day in the Her- 
mitage, amongst paintings, statuary, and antiquities. 



6o Scandinavia and Russia. 

The galleries are rich in paintings, and many chefs 
d'ceuvres are here found which one misses in the 
collections of old masters in Paris, Dresden, and 
Central Europe : notably a superb collection of 
Murillo's sacred subjects ; Rembrandt's ' Sacrifice of 
Abraham' and 'Descent from the Cross;' Titian's 

* Danae ' and * Toilette de Venus ; ' Quentin Metsy's 

* Misers ; ' Gerard Dow's ' Own Portrait ; ' the fin- 
est set of Snyder's game pictures that I know of ; 
many old Dutch paintings, appropriately framed in 
flat black wood. The sculptures are unimportant. 
The Hermitage Venus is in perfect preservation, 
but sadly disappointing. Even in this brief and 
totally inadequate hint of a few of the best known 
and most celebrated works of The Hermitage, I can- 
not omit to mention the Kertch collection, with its 

superb gold, silver, and bronze ornaments. F , 

an Oxford graduate and professor, who has made the 
study of classics the business of his life, pronounces 
it the finest and most interesting collection of its 
kind he has yet met with. His whole day has been 
spent in it. 

The entrance to the Hermitage is unique. Ten 
colossal human figures, of dark marble, support the 



St. Petersburg. 6l 

porte-cochere, and form a most imposing approach. 
Passing inside the doors, the staircase and two- 
storied entrance hall take away one's breath in ad- 
miring wonder ! At the second story, on either side 
of the stairway, rows of huge, dark granite columns 
support the lofty roof. The effect of distance, of 
size, of lofty ceiling and enclosed space, is grand and 
imposing in the extreme. In the corridor, at the 
top of this flight of steps, fabulous tables, huge 
vases, candelabra and urns of malachite and of lapis 
lazuli, dazzle one. It all reminded me very forcibly 
of a conversation I once heard in a cosmopolitan 
hotel in Italy. An American had just bought a 
small malachite ring, with which he was immensely 
pleased ; showing it to all about, and expecting the 
customary admiration, which almost every one ex- 
pressed. One man, a Russian, said not a word. 
Pressed by the American to take some notice of it, 
he finally said : * Yes, very pretty, very pretty. I 
have a mantel - piece of the same at home ' ! I 
thought him a brute at the time ; I do not now. The 
stone was as common a sight to him as the finer 
grades of polished marbles with which we decorate 
our best buildings are to us. 



62 Scandinavia and Russia. 

One room of The Hermitage contains a wax figure 
of Peter the Great, many of his tools, lathes, desks, 
canes, a wagon, and, under a glass case, his favorite 
horse and dogs, stuffed for preservation. 

In the afternoon and evening we drove, making 
the Tour des Isles, stopping at the Round Point to 
see the celebrated view of the sunset out over the 
waters of the Gulf. These islands form pleasant 
and fashionable suburbs, with numerous charming 
summer residences nestling amongst the trees, close 
by the water ; looking very inviting with their open, 
furnished verandahs and surrounding grounds. Fin- 
ished the evening at the Aquarium Gardens ; 
again walking home across the wooden bridge and 
down the promenade by the Neva, in front of the 
Public Buildings. What a panorama ! the distant 
and interminable rows of light on quay and bridge, 
the rapid river, the long fagades, the golden domes, 
towers, and thin, needle-like spires ; above all, the 
brilliant full moon. We can imagine the scene in 
winter ! one great frozen sea of ice and snow, 
covered with skaters circling about ; the sleighs 
with their furs and gay trappings ; the life, the 
activity, and the splendor of it all ! 



St Petersburg. 6g 

A day in churches, beginning with that of Kasan July 21, 
on the Newski Prospect, with its massive silver "^' ^ 
ornamentation, its Virgin with a diamond crown, 
and its semi-circular arcades in ridiculous imitation 
of St. Peter's. 

The wealth and magnificence of St. Isaac's Cathe- 
dral is peculiar to itself. Ten large columns of fluted 
malachite, thirty feet high, with two of lapis lazuli 
in the centre, support and divide the choir and 
altar from the nave ! Numberless huge monoliths 
of polished Finnish granite, at least six feet in 
diameter, support the outside porticoes on each 
side, with steps and pavement of the same material. 
The capitals, bases, and pedestals of all these columns, 
both inside and outside of the structure, and the 
huge exterior circular railing around the base of the 
upper dome, are all of bronze. The entrance doors 
and the greater part of the ceilings, which are adorned 
with colossal figures in high relief, are also of bronze ; 
together with the delicate open-work screen altar- 
doors, which are fire gilded. Immense mosaics of 
saints and apostles adorn the walls ; and a colossal 
copy of the 'Last Supper,' also in mosaic, is now 
being placed above the altar doors. A stained 



6^ Scandinavia and Russia. 

window behind the altar, representing a figure of 
the Saviour, must be at least fifty feet high. Num- 
berless swinging candelabra, of massive silver, hang 
before shrines in various parts of the cathedral, of 
a size to correspond with the vast interior. There 
are several Bible covers and shrine screens, thirty 
to forty inches square, of gold, adorned with num- 
berless rubies, amethysts, diamonds, and other pre- 
cious stones. In the altar, behind the screen, is a 
reproduction in detail of the building, about three 
feet square, of gold. This is a bare statement of a 
part of the treasures and adornments of this great 
structure, the effects of which are enhanced tenfold 
by their position and combinations. In its way, it 
is as imposing as St. Peter's or Milan Cathedral. 
There is not that detail of finish, the lines of archi- 
tectural and sculptural beauty, to dazzle the eye; 
but a colossal and massive impressiveness of wall 
and column that remind one of the Baalbec and 
Egyptian structures, together with a lavish costli- 
ness of material which only the mines and quarries 
of Siberia and Finland can supply. 

We climbed to the top, and were well repaid with 
a comprehensive — in fact, the only good — view of 



St. Petersburg. 6^ 

St. Petersburg, the Neva, islands, suburbs, and har- 
bor that can be had. 

The cottage once occupied by Peter the Great is 
protected by a building constructed over and about 
it. It contains desks and furniture, together with 
the famous boat (the grandfather of the Russian 
navy), all made by the great Emperor's own hands. 
The house is now used as a shrine. We found it 
filled with devout people who bowed their foreheads 
to the very pavement in the sincerity of their wor- 
ship. This we have noticed to be an universal cus- 
tom amongst the natives at prayer, reminding one of 
the Eastern prostration. 

The church of SS. Peter and Paul, in the Old 
Arsenal, is the Pantheon of Russia. It contains the 
remains of all the Imperial Family since the days of 
Peter the Great. Plain, simple, white marble sarco- 
phagi, in different parts of the church, enclosed by 
railings, and marked only with bronze tablets. Bat- 
tle flags are arranged about the columns of the 
structure, which is guarded by soldiers. 

We saw a capital representation of the ' Mikado,' 
in Russian, at the Livardia Garden Theatre. During 
the summer months, in Russia, these numerous gar- 



66 Scandinavia and Russia. 

dens are the favorite resort after the heat of the 
day. They are attractively laid out, with extensive 
grounds, band-stand, open-air stage, restaurant, and 
theatre. Numerous small tables and chairs, with 
waiters in attendance, are scattered about every- 
where, in front of the various performances and 
under the trees. The play in the theatre, for which 
an additional admission is charged, continues through 
the evening, with numerous long entractes, during 
which the entire audience leave the building to stroll 
about the grounds, take refreshments or drink, listen 
to the band, or watch the smaller side performances, 
until the ringing of a bell notifies them to return 
again to the theatre for another act. 

From the performance of the ' Mikado,' we returned 
to the English Quay, at midnight, by one of the ex- 
press boats on the Neva, going around the islands 
in the moonlight. We never can cross the river 
without outspoken admiration of the magnificent, 
sweeping panorama, each time discovering some new 
feature. One can watch the driving and the pedes- 
trians on quays and bridges for hours, 
July 22, This is the f^te day of the Empress. Attended 

(Aug. 3.) service in the morning at Smolna Cathedral, which 



St. Petersburg. 6'J 

is surrounded by immense cloisters. The services 
were conducted with great pomp by Monseigneur 
Isidor, the Metropolitain (head of the Greek Church 
at St. Petersburg), assisted by the Archbishop 
and other high church dignitaries, whose robes 
of gold thread and gold lace were most sumptuous. 
The daughters of the nobility are educated here. 
They were all present in their different convent cos- 
tumes, with their teachers and attendants ; many of 
the older governesses wore decorations. 

As the venerable Metropolitain came out, after the 
services, to his white satin-lined coach, which was 
drawn by four black stallions, with postillions and 
footmen, a vast crowd assembled near the steps, wait- 
ing to kiss his hand and receive his benediction. He, 
submitting to it all with the utmost patience, was 
fully ten minutes in getting down to his carriage, 
assisted most obsequiously by noblemen and officers, 
as eagerly soliciting his blessing as the poorest beg- 
gars, and whose flashing orders, gold embroidered 
uniforms, and uncovered heads, were in strange and 
striking contrast to their usual haughty demeanor. 

In the afternoon F- and I took the steamer for 

Peterhof to see the illumination in the park in honor 



68 Scandinavia and Russia. 

of the Czarina, — standing a mortal hour in the file, 
under a hot sun, waiting our turn to embark ; the 
same thing having to be gone through with on the 
long wooden pier when we came back. 

The full description of the illuminations, the crowd, 
the superb horses and liveries, the nobility, and all 
that we saw during the night (we reached St. Peters- 
burg and our hotel at three a. m,), would be simply 
impossible : the fountains, the long drives through 
the woods of the park, the Summer Palace, parterres, 
and moat, the trees, — everything and everywhere 
for about five miles one vast blaze of colored lights. 
Imagine a new firmament, or read the Arabian 
Nights tales ! The number of lights must have 
been in the millions. I counted four thousand on 
eight screens about one fountain, ajid this was to 
the illumination what one drop of water would 
be to a river. It was a marvelously beautiful sight, 
and in its way one of the most interesting we saw 
in Russia ; showing so strikingly the power and 
control in an absolute monarchy of the emperor 
over his resources and subjects, when able to spend 
such a sum of money and such an inconceivable 
amount of labor on the mere pleasure and amuse- 



St. Petersburg. 6g 

ment of a single evening. One of the most striking 
features was a summer-house, with marble bust of 
the Czar and Czarina on either side, in the middle 
of a small lake, one blaze of light. It appeared like 
a huge fairy crown, created for the moment by a 
magician's wand : so airy, so light, so ethereal, that 
it seemed impossible to think of it as the work of 
human hands. 

The Summer Palace — a long, low, rather rococo 
building, with pavilions at either end, surmounted 
with golden minarets and domes — is situated on an 
elevation, similar in location to Sans Souci at Pots- 
dam. From the parterre in front of it a huge foun- 
tain staircase, adorned with gilded statuary (copies 
of antiques : Perseus, Meleager, Hercules, Discoboli ; 
Venus of Milo, Medici, etc.), descends to the level 
of the park, with wide stairways for ascending 
and descending on either side. From its foot, a 
canal, or moat, crossed by numerous ornamental 
bridges, extends through thick woods, out to the 
gulf. Hundreds of fountains, throwing huge jets of 
water and spray in all directions, — running and fall- 
ing in miniature water-falls over the numerous steps 
and amongst the golden statuary to the moat at 



yo Scandinavia and Russia. 

the bottom, — ^were illuminated by throwing different 
colored lights on the moving, flowing mass : whilst 
the fagade of the palace, the steps, the statuary, the 
parterre, the canal, the bridges, the trees on either 
side, and away out on the gulf the ships and boats, 
were all covered with millions of red and green and 
blue and yellow, and every-colored lights ; in great 
groups of one color in places, in others mixed or 
graduated, — apparently as countless and unnum- 
bered as the stars in the heavens. 

All this was but one small part of the general 
illumination, which extended on this same scale for 
several miles. It all seemed like one vast, beautiful 
dream of fairyland. 

The Czar and Czarina, followed by the whole Im- 
perial household, drove about the grounds all the 
evening. The Czarina's carriage was drawn by eight 
dappled grey stallions, with postilions and outriders. 
He sat silent and glum, most of the time smoking 
a cigarette. She was queenly and beautiful, dressed 
all in white, bowing gracefully, and sweetly smiling 
to all. They passed us frequently during the even- 
ing. There was no guard, — not a soldier about or 
near them. Any one in the vast throngs — and there 



Sf. Petersburg. J I 

must have been hundreds of thousands, of all ages, 
sex, and conditions — could at any time during the 
evening have approached to the very carriage wheels : 
rather of a contradiction to the absurd newspaper 
reports one reads of the Emperor's secluded, guarded 
life, and his fears of Nihilistic attempts. The enthu- 
siasm was intense. We could always judge of his 
whereabouts by the shouts and vivas that filled the 
air. A great wave of sound followed him wherever 
he drove. 

The Summer Garden, opposite the vast bare juiyis. 
Champs de Mars, is a large park, with dense shade- ^^"^' *'^ 
trees, which form a cool, quiet retired spot in the 
heart of the city. Numerous rude, coarse marble 
statues ornament (!*) the central walk at one end, 
near which are a fine railing, entrance gate, and 
commemorative chapel. 

The Gostinnoe Dvor, a vast bazaar, occupies the 
entire space between four streets, opposite our hotel. 
I had read of this place from the time of my boyish 
days, and had always been curious to see it. It was 
different in every way from what I expected to see : 
simply a collection of shops for the sale of modern 
foreign wares, chiefly clothing and dress goods, with 



^2 Scandinavia and Russia. 

wholesale stores above. One walks under arcades 
about the entire structure and on both stories, out- 
side on the street fagades, and inside about a central 
square. 

After dinner F and I took another drive 

around the islands. It is a pleasant, restful way of 
passing a few hours, in a comfortable carriage, — with 
thick rubber tires to break the noise, shock, and jar 
of the pavements, — behind a pair of black stallions, 
bowling along at a rate of ten or twelve miles an 
hour. 

There is a curious custom at night in St. Peters- 
burg of porters (' watch-dogs ' we called them) on all 
doorsteps and entrances of hotels, palaces, and the 
better class of houses, where they lie curled up in 
their great fur coats. No matter how soundly they 
sleep, no one can approach or enter without their 
springing up and opening the door. 

All servants, porters, help, and attaches always 
rise on one's approach, standing in a respectful and 
submissive attitude while one is walking by them. 

Our permits have at last arrived from the Minis- 
ters for entrance to the Winter Palace ; so that, if 
we can get our passport in time from the police, we 



^ 



St. Petersburg. yj 

shall leave to-morrow night for Moscow. A serious 
business this passport vis^ in Russia. They have one 
completely at their mercy, and it is fully as hard to 
get away as to enter the country. The river all the 
way up at night is patrolled by police boats, burning 
red lights, which must be signalled by passing craft 
of every description. 

In regard to language, we find German and French 
universally spoken by people with any education, — 
especially the former. The only trouble is with the 
droski drivers, who speak only Russian. As there 
is no tariff of fares, and the alphabetical characters 
are such that no foreigner can make them out or 
write them, it is rather difficult to drive a bargain, 
or to indicate where one wishes to be taken. 

Spent two hours in the Winter Palace to-day. A juiy24, 
fairly comfortable building, noticeable chiefly for the 
vast number and extent of its rooms, corridors, and 
staircases, with pleasant views out over the river 
from various balconies. In the different halls and 
rooms we were shown a large collection of paintings 
of all the chief battles in which Russia has ever 
taken part ; also, portraits of all the emperors and 
celebrated Russian generals and men. One room 



(Aug. 5.) 



y^f. Scandinavia and Russia. 

is finished and furnished entirely with malachite ; 
mantelpiece, tables, standing candelabra, an immense 
ornamental vase, and all around the four walls large 
supporting columns of the same. In others the fur- 
niture was of the most ordinary description, with 
evidences of rococo and imitation lapis lazuli and 
marbles in many places. The Throne Room, rather 
gaudily decorated with gold, contained a picture said 
to be a Raphael, — ' The Resurrection.' 
July 25, Arrived early at the curious old Eastern town of 

(Aug. 6.) 

MOSCOW. 

A wet, rainy day. The streets, which are badly 
paved, are filthy with mud and running water. This 
is the first day since leaving home that the weather 
has interfered with our sight-seeing. The drainage 
is very poor, the smells are sickening, the droskies 
are detestable. We sadly miss the broad, imperial 
thoroughfares and swiftly running vehicles of St. 
Petersburg. A greater contrast than between the 
two cities can scarcely be imagined. Moscow is 
unlike anything that we have ever seen. The archi- 
tecture on all sides is most bizarre and interesting. 
The buildings and walls of the Kremlin, the towers 



Moscow. 75 

and onion-shaped domes, of which there are hundreds 
to be seen in any direction one may look, are glaring 
with gold and flaming colors. The Moskowa River 
winds through the city past one side of the Kremlin 
wall, adding to the picturesqueness, the filthiness, 
and the odors of the place. 

The people are devotional even to idolatry. In 
a small chapel, by one of the entrance gates to 
the Kremlin, is a curious figure of the Virgin, black- 
ened with age ; except the face, feet, and hands, it 
is covered with gold and adorned with precious 
stones. It is supposed to be endowed with extra- 
ordinary powers of healing and forgiveness. All 
day long the crowd of passers-by enter to prostrate 
themselves to the very ground in front of it, kissing 
devoutly and reverently the hands and feet of the 
figure. This is the famous Iberian Mother of God. 
It is enclosed in a case with handles, and is taken 
out daily and driven about before the kneeling mul- 
titudes, or upon payment of a large sum to the 
houses of the sick to cure them of their diseases. 
A special coach with four horses is devoted to its 
use, the attendants riding always with uncovered 
heads. At night, I have seen the square in front 



y6 Scandinavia and Russia. 

of it full of sleeping groups, waiting for the opening 
of the chapel doors in the morning. 

The Holy Gate of the Kremlin, curiously and 
rudely decorated with Oriental frescoing, is also an 
object of great veneration. It is never passed 
through, not even by the Emperor, except with 
uncovered head. This is even exacted of strangers. 

We spend the whole day in the cathedrals and 
Palace of the Kremlin. Every portion of the interiors 
of the cathedrals is profusely decorated with large 
figures of emperors, saints, apostles, and martyrs, on 
gold backgrounds. The Icon of the great cathedral 
is superb with its heavily ornamental gold columns 
and panels. Even the supporting pillars about the 
building do not escape this contagion of gold and color. 
The result is a tout ensemble of color and sparkle 
such as I have never seen in civilized countries. All 
this, with the curious shapes and profusion of external 
domes and minarets, keeps one constantly on the 
alert for the unexpected, and is a continual reminder 
of the remoteness and Eastern character of this most 
strange city. A raised dais in the centre of the 
great cathedral of the Kremlin is the spot where all 
the Emperors of Russia have been crowned. 



Moscow. yj 

The Kremlin Palace is worthy of all praise. It 
consists of the ancient and modern residences of the 
Emperors. The large modern Throne, Reception, 
and Audience chambers, with superb effects in white 
and gold, are three noble rooms ; the largest I have 
ever seen, with floors of polished marqueterie. The 
Emperor's dais, chair, and baldaquin in the Throne 
Room are truly regal, with covered steps of the finest 
gold woven carpet. The Imperial eagles behind the 
chair are massively wrought. The immense panels 
of the walls are upholstered with embossed Persian 
silk of a delicate blue, while the columns and ceiling 
are of white stucco, covered with golden arabesques 
and Persian characters. It is in this room that the 
Emperors give audience immediately after their coro- 
nation. The Empress receives the congratulations 
of the ladies in a smaller, adjacent room, in which 
the dais, baldaquin, and chair are of scarlet silk 
velvet. After coronation and audience, a dinner is 
served in the dining-room of the older palace. This 
room is most unique in shape and size. A huge 
square column in the centre, around which is the 
buffet, supports the sectionally arched monastic 
ceilings, which, with the walls, are adorned with 



'j8 Scandinavia and Russia, 

Biblical subjects, on a gold background. Around 
the four sides, a low settee is covered with delicately 
embroidered Persian silks, which contrast with a 
most bizarre floor carpet, of curious Oriental designs, 
in dark material, on an orange foundation. 

In the old Palace of the Czars the apartments are 
low, small, dimly lighted ; almost weird and monas- 
tic. The walls and ceilings are decorated with a 
dark mixture of Eastern colors and characters. The 
floors and stairways of stone, carefully and curiously 
hewn into the same characters, make a very uneven 
and uncomfortable footing to walk upon. The effect 
of all this seemed curiously to impress one with an 
idea of absolute despotic rule and weird, uncanny 
power. One walked cautiously and hesitatingly, as 
if half expecting suddenly to come upon some fierce 
caliph who held one's life in his hands. 

In the square outside of these buildings, at the foot 
of the tall Ivan Bell-tower, is the great Moscow bell, 
of bronze and silver, weighing over two hundred 
tons, nearly five times the height of an ordinary man, 
and sixty-seven feet in circumference. It is now 
raised on a low pedestal, with the broken piece by 
its side. 



Moscow. yg 

Around the Arsenal building are several curious 
and ornamental bronze guns and gun carriages. One 
huge piece at the corner, weighing forty tons, is a 
suitable companion for the great bell. 

Our first general view of the city was from the 
Kremlin wall ; but, owing to the rain, we did not 
long linger, anticipating an ascent of the Bell-tower 
the first pleasant day. 

Most of the restaurants in Moscow are thoroughly 
Slav, in decoration, cooking, and attendance. One 
is served by natives dressed all in white, with a red 
sash at the waist. The wines are excellent, the 
soups are iced ; fish follows the meat ; their coffee 
and tea are unrivalled ; and for a first course, fresh 
caviare on toast or warm bread is delicious when 
taken with a fiery native drink (somewhat resem- 
bling schnapps), as an appetiser. 

Near the Holy Gate of the Kremlin is the Cathe- 
dral of St. Basile, with its eleven extraordinary 
domes, no two of which are alike. It is architect- 
urally the most remarkable building in Russia. One 
can only liken it to a huge vegetable garden of brick 
and metal, painted in all the colors of the rainbow. 
Its interior seems to consist of a series of small 
chapels. 



8o Scandinavia and Russia. 

One of the most conspicuous buildings in Moscow 
is the modern Church of the Deliverer, built since 
1 8 14, to commemorate the retreat of Napoleon. It 
is in the shape of a Greek cross, of sandstone, with 
five golden domes, situated on an eminence, sur- 
rounded by tasteful gardens, which are protected by 
embankment walls ; it is grand and imposing, but 
seems curiously out of place, with its modern archi- 
tecture and decorations, in this old town. The 
interior is most sumptuous and pleasing. A dado 
of dark marble is surmounted with the same material 
in grey and white, above which are frescoes of scrip- 
tural subjects. In the centre and top of the central 
lofty dome is a colossal fresco of The Almighty, 
with outstretched hands, in benediction. In the 
ends and above the entrance doors of each of three 
arms of the cross are balconies, protected by railings 
composed of a series of single brass candlesticks, 
which are also continued on the same level entirely 
around the walls. When we first entered, at dusk, 
evening service was going on, and these candles 
were all lighted, together with those in numerous 
gilt and cloisonne candelabra on the floor. The 
effect of strong light and dark shadow in the fast 



Moscow. 8l 

darkening twilight was grand. The entrances under 
the balconies are protected by finely wrought trel- 
lised, bronze, screen doors. Numerous paintings 
adorn the walls in panels between the marbles. 

In the fourth arm of the cross is the altar, cov- 
ered by a pyramidal-shaped chapel of white polished 
marble, with numerous panel paintings of saints and 
figures, all surmounted with gold bronze eagles and 
cross on the crescent (indicating the triumph of the 
one over the other) ; the entrance to the altar being 
screened by massive golden doors, percees d jour. 
This chapel reaches quite up to the ceiling of the 
church. 

Russian priests, with their long flowing hair 
and superb golden robes, were chanting the service, 
assisted by two choirs of men and boys, — one on 
either side of the altar, — who took up the responses 
singly or in unison. The marble walls and polished 
surfaces acting like vast sounding-boards, the deep, 
sonorous tones of the priest and the chorus of the 
choirs lingered and reverberated about the building, 
until they finally died away in the vast vault of the 
dome above. It was all most impressive, the effect 
being heightened by the evident sincerity and de- 



82 Scandinavia and Russia. 

votion of the worshippers, who prostrated them- 
selves, according to the Russian custom, flat on the 
pavement, at intervals. We lingered for more than 
an hour, spell-bound by the delicious music and the 
sacred character of the service ; all the while the 
deep and musical tones of hundreds of bells outside 
were chiming and calling to prayer all over the city. 
We are stopping at the Slaviansky Bazar (Hotel 
du Bazar Slave), which was originally built, as its 
name indicates, for a bazaar ; but, failing of success, 
it was converted into a hotel. The present restau- 
rant was the former salesroom. It is very large and 
lofty, with tastefully painted and ornamented beams, 
arches, and buttresses. The tables are placed in 
niches around the walls, intended as stalls for the 
sale of goods. In the centre is a large basin with 
fountain, about which are numerous palm and other 
growing trees and green foliage. The cooking is 
excellent, and the room is most attractive. 
Sunday, Attended mass this morning in the Great Cathe- 
{au^^') ^^^^ °^ ^^^ Kremlin. The offlciating priests, with 
their Greek crowns and robes, might have been so 
many old patriarchs, representations of whom we 
are so familiar with in Biblical prints. 



Moscow. 8j 

After the service we climbed the Ivan tower to 
view the city, and a marvellous and unusual sight it 
was. We looked down upon a sea of light green 
roofs, relieved by hundreds on hundreds of golden 
and colored towers and minarets. It was from this 
point that Mme. de Stael made her famous and ex- 
cellent description of Moscow in three words : 
* Voild Rome Tartare ! ' 

Toward evening we went up the river for about 
three miles, on a miserable little steamer, to the foot 
of Sparrow Hill, which we climbed to get the cele- 
brated view which Napoleon, with his invading 
army, first had of the city. Thiers, in his * History 
of the Consulate and Empire,' thus describes it : — 

Enfin, arrivee au sommet d'un coteau, I'arm^e decouvrit 
tout-a-coup au dessous d'elle, at k une distance assez rap- 
prochee, une villa immansa, brillianta da mille coulaurs, 
surmontea d'una foule de domes dores rasplendissants da 
lumiera, melange singuliar da bois, da lacs, da chaumi- 
eres, da palais, d'e'glisas, de clochers, villa a la fois 
gothiqua at byzantina, realisant tout ca qua las contas 
oriantaux racontent das marvaillas de I'Asie. Tandis que 
des monasteres flanques da tours formaiant la ceintura de 
cette grande cite', au centra s'elavait sur une e'minence 



84- Scandinavia and Russia. 

une forte citadelle, espece de capitole ou se voyaient a la 
fois les temples de la Divinite et les palais des empereurs, 
ou au dessus des murailles crenelees surgissaient des 
domes majestueux, portant I'embleme qui represente toute 
I'histoire de la Russie et toute son ambition, la croix sur 
le croissant renversee. Cette citadelle c'etait le Kremlin, 
ancien sejour des Tzars. 

A cet aspect magique, I'imagination, le sentiment de la 
gloire, s'exaltant a la fois, les soldats s'ecrierent tous 
ensemble : ' Moscou ! Moscou ! ' Ceux qui etaient restes 
au pied de la colline se haterent d'accourir; pour un 
moment, tous les rangs furent confondus, et tout le monde 
voulut contempler la grande capitale ou nous avait con- 
duits une marche si aventureuse. On ne • pouvait se 
rassasier de ce spectacle eblouissant et fait pour eveiller 
tant de sentiments divers. Napoleon survint a son tour, 
et, saisi de ce qu'il voyait, lui qui avait, comme les plus 
vieux soldats de I'armee, visite successivement le Caire, 
Memphis, le Jourdain, Milan, Vienne, Berlin, Madrid, il 
ne put se defendre d'une profonde emotion. 

We strolled through the birch woods and over 
the hill, for an hour ; and after a delicious cup of 
tea, with a slice of lemon, from a smoking samovar 
which was brought to our table at a little restaurant 
by the river, we took steamer back to the city. The 



Moscow. 8^ 

Moskowa describes, in its course through and about 
Moscow, an immense letter S ; thus we had many 
excellent views on our return. The rain had ceased, 
the clouds all disappeared, and the air had that 
peculiar clear, transparent effect which is so often 
noticeable after a storm. As we approached the 
city nearer and nearer, every golden spire stood out 
clearly and distinctly against the sky ; while the last 
rays of the setting sun glistened and gleamed from 
dome to dome. We landed on the island below the 
Kremlin, and, as we walked back on the opposite 
side of the river, the old citadel, with its walls, 
towers, and buildings, was magical to behold. 

We saw the peasants all the afternoon, farming, 
fishing, and gathered on the banks of the stream to 
watch us pass. They seem a good-natured, ignorant, 
low class, much given to drunkenness, and astonish- 
ingly fond of the various shades of red. It is used 
both by male and female to such an extent in cloth- 
ing as to be almost typical. The men dress with 
top boots, creased and folded at the ankle, dark 
trousers tucked into the boots, and a red shirt, either 
of flannel or cotton, worn like a blouse, with a belt 
or string at the waist ; over this, as the weather re- 



86 Scandinavia and Russia. 

quires, they put on a vest and coat, and on top of all, 
/ a/ peculiar, flowing, long-tailed overcoat. The effect 
of the vest only, worn over the shirt, with the red 
.flaps flying below it, is very curious. A black cloth 
■ cap, with visor, completes the costume. Most of 
\ ^the women have a dress, apron, waist, or at least a 
; * handkerchief tied over the head, either of scarlet or 
; pink ; often both colors are worn at the same time. 
IThe waist of the dress is so short that in many cases 
the skirt hangs from above the bosom. These red 
shirts and dresses, everywhere dotted about, in the 
I, |.elds and on the water, are very picturesque, and 
give bits of warm color to the landscape, 
July 27, We spent the morning wandering through the 

(Aug. 8.) inij-^Qa^cies of the Gostinnoe Dvor, which I found 
much nearer my ideal than the St. Petersburg 
bazaar. It covers many squares, through which the 
narrow streets run, with passageways innumerable. 
After the first turn or two, one loses all idea of 
locality, and wanders about through a labyrinth of 
turnings, midst a bewildering and confusing assort- 
ment of tempting wares. 

F left me at noon for Warsaw and Germany. 

I then presented my letters of introduction, and 



Moscow. 8y 

received for the next four days, both in Moscow and 
at Nijni, a generous welcome and hospitality, which 
will always remain one of the pleasantest recollec- 
tions of my trip in Russia. 

NIJNI NOVGOROD. 

During the period of the fair at Nijni, smoking juiyas 
in the streets is prohibited, under a penalty of 500 ^'^"^' ^'^ 
roubles (a rouble is nominally worth about seventy- 
five cents). Notices to this effect are posted every- 
where ; but, unfortunately for me, they were all in 
Russian characters. As I drove from the station on 
my arrival, enjoying a good cigar and the fresh 
morning air, after a tiresome, sleepless night in a 
close railway carriage, a mounted official stopped my 
droski before we had gone the length of two blocks. 
Evidently something was seriously wrong ; but what 
it was I could not ascertain. Even the production 
of my passport failed to satisfy him. The address 
on my letter of introduction to the resident English - 
Consul produced more effect, and calling a second 
guard, who seated himself by my side, we drove on. 
With this escort of foot and horse, I presented my- 
self — or rather was presented, for I was under 



88 Scandinavia and Russia. 

arrest — at the residence of the Consul. Mutual 
explanations followed, and the affair (which might 
have been most serious for me) was amicably ar- 
ranged. This was but one of the many obligations, 
and but the beginning of the courteous hospitality, 

I received from Mr. F during the day. With 

the joking remark that I evidently was not able to 
take care of myself alone, he remained with me 
during all the hours I spent at Nijni, thoughtfully 
providing for my fullest enjoyment and best ap- 
preciation of the many curious sights and scenes 
of the great fair. 

The town is pleasantly situated at the junction of 
two rivers : one of which, the great Volga, rolls ma- 
jestically on its course through the town and down 
the vast valley. One bank rises to quite a height, 
on which residences are built to the very top. 

The Fair grounds are on a peninsula between the 
rivers and a canal, and are only used in the weeks 
between July 15th and August 25th. The long lines 
of buildings, shops, warehouses, large hotels, restau- 
rants, etc., are closed during the remainder of the 
year, and in spring are under water. This shows 
the importance of the fair, when a whole section of 



Nijni Novgorod. 8g 

a city can be abandoned for ten months of every 
year for the profits in trading during the other two. 
It is not a mere holiday exhibition fair (in the sense 
we mean when using the word), but a vast national 
entrepot where the entire trading and exchange of 
commodities for the whole year are condensed into a 
few weeks. Tartars, Persians, Armenians, Chinese, — 
all the different tribes of inhabitants and neighbors 
from the various parts of the vast Empire, — bring 
their products in huge quantities, which they dis- 
pose of at wholesale, and then buy the manufactured 
articles of the more civilized provinces to take back 
with them. The gathering of people, the piles of 
merchandise, the bargaining, customs, manners, 
dress, amusements, activity, and life of this vast 
human beehive is wonderful to behold. Every 
quarter has its restaurant, with choir of young 
women in various costumes according to its nation- 
ality, — the imported Hungarian, with red jacket, 
gold braid and coy little top-boots with tassels ; the 
costume de ballet ; the Tartars, with scarcely any 
costume at all, — who sing at intervals on a small 
raised platform, and then go about with their little 
silver plates for collections. 



go Scandinavia and Russia. 

I left at nine p. m. by train. The distance be- 
tween Nijni and Moscow is 450 versts (a verst is 
about three-quarters of an English mile), and takes 
twelve hours and a half. The same distance between 
Manchester and London is done in five hours. From 
St. Petersburg to Moscow, 650 versts, takes about 
thirteen hours, which is the fastest train in Russia. 
The cars are very comfortable, some of them some- 
what similar in general arrangement to the Pullman 
day car. The chairs extend, and can be pulled out 
at night to form a couch. This does very well, pro- 
vided one travels, as the natives always do, with 
pillow and bed clothing. The stranger (except in 
the sleepers on the St. Petersburg train, which sur- 
pass even the Pullman) who goes without these may 
make up his mind to be cold and uncomfortable. 

MOSCOW. 

July 29, I have escaped all three of the annoyances which 

(Aug. 10.) ^^^ usually experienced during a trip to the Nijni 
Fair, — heat, dust, and bugs. Since the rain of 
Saturday and Sunday morning, the weather has been 
cool and delightful. Indeed, our whole Russian ex- 
perience has been most enjoyable in every way. 



Moscow. gi 

The stories one hears of the surveillance and diffi- 
culties of travelling in the Empire are about as 
absurd as some of the ideas stay-at-home English- 
men have of America. Once have one's passport 
carefully prepared, give it up willingly to the police 
on arrival, never leave without it, behave prudently 
and conform to the laws, and there will be no inter- 
ference, no surveillance, no restraint. One will find 
it as pleasant a country to travel in as any in 
Europe. 

In a conversation with an Englishman at Scar- 
borough, he impressed upon me the necessity of 
engaging a courier immediately on landing at St. 
Petersburg, going into an elaborate and confidential 
explanation of their relation to the government, 
during which he informed me that they were in 
reality regularly authorized detectives ; that in any 
event a watch would be set on my movements in 
some form or another, and that it would be much 
pleasanter to have it openly, in the shape of an 
assistant and interpreter, than to feel constantly 
that in some unseen and unknown way one's every 
step was dogged and followed. I now honestly be- 
lieve that Englishman to be thoroughly mistaken 



g2 Scandinavia and Russia. 

in his ideas of the Russian police-system. We have 
travelled i,6oo miles in the country, have never for a 
single hour engaged the services of a courier, never 
for a moment been conscious of, or seen the most 
trifling indication of surveillance or espionage, — not 
even during the night of the Peterhof illuminations, 
where, as I have already stated, we were constantly 
in the presence of the Emperor and Empress for 
hours, and could have at any moment, and did several 
times, approach to the very wheels of their carriage. 
I have often seen the streets guarded by a cordon of 
police much more carefully for the passage of our 
presidents, than were the drives of Peterhof Park 
that evening. 

More than all this, I believe there is an opportunity 
to make money in Russia by intelligent foreigners, 
owing to the absence of a middle-class. The nobles 
are too wealthy or haughty, and the moujik is yet 
too ignorant to work at a trade. The presence of 
so niany Germans would seem to indicate this. We 
were informed that out of a population in St. Peters- 
burg of nearly a million, there are over 200,000 of 
them. They are a prudent, thrifty people, and well 
know where their best interests lie. We also met 



Moscow. 9J 

many resident Scotchmen — engineers, contractors, 
and manufacturers — all busily engaged in pushing 
forward the various new lines of railway, and the 
great pipe conduits for oil, which are now receiving 
so much attention from the government and from 
capitalists in the Southern provinces. 

The vast stretches of country between the large 
cities remind one of some of our Western tracts, 
and are capable, with intelligent cultivation, of great 
improvement. 

Called on Dr. H , whom I met in Sweden. 

He received me most cordially, and prevailed upon 
me to stay another day in Moscow. We drove out 
to Petrovski Park, stopping at the trotting grounds 
and training stables on our way. The palace is in- 
teresting on account of its curious architecture and 
the simplicity of its interior and furnishing. It is 
refreshing to be able to enter a building without 
being obliged to wonder and marvel at fresh treas- 
ures at every turn. 

We dined well at a restaurant in the park, which 
also had its music, its Hungarian singers en costume^ 
and a band of dark, willowy gypsies. Toujours la 
femme en Russie ! "^ 



g^- Scandinavia and Russia. 

July 30, Spent the whole of this my last day in Moscow 

lazily lounging through the Kremlin and about 
the city, vividly photographing the now well-known 
buildings and costumes on my mind forever more. 
Left by train in the evening for 



ST. PETERSBURG, 

July 31, where I arrived the next morning. Spent the day 

"^' "■. in a droski, making sundry purchases, and arranging 

to leave Russia on the morrow. 

Aug. I, Spent the morning with Colonel Way, our Consul 

(Aug. 13.) Qgj^gj-g^]^_ p^<^ f^yg p_ j^j^ sailed on the Wilson steamer 

Marsdin, and began boxing the compass on our tort- 
uous voyage back to England by sea. I have now 
done with the Julian calendar, and can again return 
to single dates. St. Petersburg is fading away in 
the distance, as so many cities have done before on 
this trip. The sun lingers lovingly on St. Isaac's 
and the golden Admiralty spire. Good-bye, Russia, 
good-bye ! I leave you, with your golden domes, 
broad thoroughfares, and strange people, very unwill- 
ingly. You have taken a strong hold on me. Shall 
I ever see you again ! 



END 



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